Cradle



CRADLE Filed Dec. 29; 1952 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Fig. 4 42 Ralph A. Fehrman INVENTOR.

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United States Patent CRADLE Ralph A. Fehrman, Byesville, Ohio Application December '29, 1952, Serial No. 328,488 1 Claim. (Cl. -109 This invention relates to cradle structures and more particularly to power operated cradles.

An object of this invention is to provide a cradle requiring no manual effort to operate it, the swinging mo tion imparted thereto being derived solely from power means.

Another object is to provide a cradle structure wherein a swinging platform is utilized as a support for a portable baby bed.

A further object is in the provision of an improved operating means for cradles.

A still further object is to provide a power operated cradle having an operating means incorporating improved mechanism effecting silent operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of the device partly broken away to show the operating mechanism, and showing a baby bed or bassinet in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is an end view of the cradle;

Figure 3 is another end view showing the door of a storage bin in open position;

Figure 4 is a plan view, the dotted lines depicting the open door of a storage closet;

Figure 5 is a side view showing the manner in which a clothes hamper is provided at one end of the device; and,

Figure 6 is a vertical section taken along lines 66 of Figure 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 10 indicates the base of a cradle device supported by wheels 12 and provided with end supports 14 extending upwardly therefrom. Adjacent each support and attached to opposite ends of the base is a clothes hamper 16 and a storage closet 18. The hamper has a cover 20 and the closet has a door 22, for obvious purposes.

At the upper end of each support is a rocker shaft 24 having an enlarged head 26. The shafts pivotally carry opposite end walls 28 of a platform assembly having, in addition, to the end walls, a plurality of floor slats 30 and a pair of spaced side walls 32. This assembly is provided for the purpose of receiving a portable baby bed or bassinet 34 and for a purpose presently apparent, the assembly additionally includes a bottom 36 upon which the floor slats are supported in spaced relation by means of spacer blocks 38.

Extending longitudinally along one side of base 10 is a wall 40 and disposed outwardly thereof is an arcuate door 42 hinged at 44 at its lower edge to the base. The door extends outwardly of the side of the base and with wall 4%), door ends 46 and flexible members 48, forms a storage bin and, as clearly seen in Figure 3, a spring ice catch 50 may be provided on the upper edge of the door to latch it shut.

symmetrically disposed at the side opposite the storage bin is a removable arcuate cover 52 having end walls 54, as shown in Figure 2. The wall 40, base 10, and cover 52, constitute a housing within which the .op erating means for the cradle is disposed.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 and 6, a bracket 56 on the base pivotally carries an upright L- shaped arm 58. A shaft 60 is journalled in boss 62 of the arm and feathered thereon are small and large friction gears 64, 66, respectively. A horizontally extending portion 68 of the arm is provided with a depending motor bracket 70 to which electric motor 72 is secured. The motor bracket is pivoted, as at 74, to arm 58. Friction driving element 76 on motor shaft 78 is operatively engageable with friction gear 66. To maintain proper engaging force between the elements, a spring 80 is secured at opposite ends to motor bracket '70 and arm 58, respectively. The motor is supplied with current by the wires 82 and a control switch 84 may be conveniently provided on the wall 54.

A standard 86, secured to base 10, journals an idler shaft 88 in its boss 90. An idler gear 92 and an eccentric crank 94 are disposed on opposite ends of shaft 88, the former being operatively engaged with friction gear 64. To urge the arm is a direction maintaining engagement between gears 64 and 92, spring 96 is secured at opposite ends thereof to the standard 86 and arm 58.

Depending from the platform bottom 36 in spaced relation are guide members 98 whose free ends are connected by plate 100. It will readily be seen that a grooved roller 102, carried by the free end of crank 94, is disposed in operative relation between guides 98. The smallest outside diameter of this roller is slightly less than the spacing between the guides so that the roller will not simultaneously engage both.

Now it is clear that drive from motor '72 will be transmitted through element '76 to gear 66, from gear 64 to gear 92 and cause rotation of crank 94. The oscillatory motion of the crank, through roller 102, and guides 98, will be converted to a swinging motion of the platform about its pivots 24.

To provide a maximum of silence, the various friction elements may preferably be formed of resilient material such as rubber. Therefore, a noiseless cradle assembly will result.

The entire assembly may be conveniently finished to suit the individual taste and it will be clear that the usual baby bed may be placed in the cradle platform until such time as the infant is asleep. Thereupon, the drive assembly may be disconnected by switch 84 and the cradle will constitute a convenient support for the bed. The various storage spaces provide a maximum of space utilization and furthermore add to the usefulness and esthetic value of the device.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described,

and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A rocking support for a cradle comprising a base, end supports extending upwardly from said base, a cradle supporting platform extending between said supports and pivotally carried thereby, side and end walls on said platform for retaining a cradle placed on said platform, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the base and extending upwardly therefrom, a pair of resilient friction gears journalled on an intermediate portion of said arm and connected for unitary rotation, a bracket pivotally carried on the upper end of said arm, a motor mounted on the bracket and having a resilient friction drive element, spring means connecting said bracket and arm and urging said resilient friction drive element into e'ngagement with one of said resilient friction gears, a rotary shaft having a crank and a third resilient friction gear fast thereon, said crank having a roller thereon, a pair of guides depending from said platform and between which said roller rides to rock the platform upon rotation of the crank by said shaft, a standard on the base in which said shaft is rotatable, and a tension spring connected to said arm and standard for resiliently urging said arm to engage the other friction gear of'the pair with said third friction gear for rotating said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS .Ordvvay1..1- Oct. 18, McCarty .Q;' Feb. 7, Gray Nov. 19,

Lawson Apr-. 12, Nisle June 20, Dziedzic Dec. 19, Yurkovich Aug. 9,

Touchberry May 2, Seifts May 8, Bryant Mar. 17,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of Great Britain of France Mar. 15, 

